AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Jonathan Freedland, a Guardian writer, after traveling to the occupied territories and speaking with a number of the country's citizens, reported that some Israelis consider this election "the most important election in the country's history," and there are even concerns that if the coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu wins again, this election may be Israel's last democratic election.
Freedland stated in his report that the past four years have been accompanied by continuous attacks on the mechanisms of liberal democracy and efforts to weaken institutional constraints on executive power.
According to the Guardian, critics of Netanyahu's government believe the actions of the ruling coalition, including efforts to change the status of the judiciary, can weaken the independence of oversight bodies.
This report also referred to Netanyahu's positions toward some critics of Israel's military policies and emphasized that the Israeli Prime Minister has joined calls for revoking the citizenship of some Israeli filmmakers for making a critical film about the Israeli army's performance in Gaza.
The Guardian, in the continuation of its report, referred to the accusations raised against Yair Golan, the leader of the "Democrats" party, and wrote that Sara Netanyahu, the wife of the Israeli Prime Minister, had accused him of having known about the October 7 operation.
According to this report, Freedland described these accusations as part of a political campaign accompanied by misinformation and conspiracy theories; claims that, according to him, were raised with the aim of diverting attention from the performance of Netanyahu's government on that day.
Freedland, in another part of his report, introduced Israel's judiciary as one of the most important obstacles to the expansion of the government's powers and wrote that this issue has gained more importance in circumstances where Netanyahu is still involved in corruption cases.
According to the Guardian, the Zionist regime's attempt to weaken the Supreme Court's powers in 2023 has created concerns among opponents that such actions will be repeated if the current coalition wins again.
In this context, Yehuda Shaul, an Israeli activist whose statements are included in the Guardian's report, said that Israel's democratic institutions and courts, despite criticisms about their performance regarding Palestinian rights, still provide the possibility of changing conditions, and their collapse could confront the country with a serious crisis.
Expansion of Settlements in the West Bank
The Guardian's report went on to address the situation in the West Bank and wrote that Freedland, during his trip to this region, reported on Palestinian villages and reports related to settler pressure and violence against Palestinian residents.
According to this report, Shaul has assessed the number of new settlements and outposts established since 2023 at about 250.
The Guardian wrote that critics believe the expansion of settlements has reduced the geographical contiguity of Palestinian areas and makes the process of forming a Palestinian state with territorial viability more difficult.
Israel's Election and Consequences Beyond Domestic Borders
Freedland concluded his report in the Guardian by emphasizing that the October 27 election is not merely a domestic competition to determine Israel's next government but will have consequences for the future of the regime's political structure and the situation in the West Bank.
According to the Guardian, the result of this election can affect the course of Israel's internal developments, the status of democratic institutions, and policies related to settlement construction in the Palestinian territories.
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